Banana Wheat Germ Muffins

We recently moved back in December to our very first house and today was the day I got to use our oven for the very first time!  We've used the stove-top burners plenty of times for dinner, but hadn't used the inside of the oven just yet.  I haven't had the chance to bake in ages and had the day off from work today...and I had some bananas that were starting to go...perfect opportunity for some banana muffins!

I dug out my cookbooks (that are still packed away in boxes from the move) and searched for a banana recipe that was suitable to use up the bananas.  Sure enough, my Veganomicon cookbook had a perfect recipe - Banana Wheat Germ Muffins.  Wholesome, dairy-free, can't beat 'em!  By the way, if you haven't picked up this cookbook yet, I highly recommend it - even for those of you who aren't vegan or vegetarian, there are tons of healthy and delicious recipes inside.

These muffins baked just perfectly - they have a slight crunch to them from the wheat germ, and they are soft and fluffy from the bananas.  Baked with whole wheat flour and wheat germ, you won't feel guilty snacking on these.  The recipe makes 12 muffins.

1 cup plain soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 very ripe bananas
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour
3/4 cup wheat germ
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 375F.  Add muffin liners to a muffin tin.
Pour soy milk into a measuring cup and add the vinegar to it.  Set it aside to curdle.
Meanwhile, mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl.  Add the soy milk mixture to the bowl along with the oil, sugar, and vanilla.  Mix well.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, wheat germ, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.  Add this to the banana mixture and use a wooden spoon to gently stir the ingredients, until all the dry ingredients are just moistened.
Fill the muffin cups three-quarters full and bake for 22 minutes.  Remove from the oven and, once cool enough to handle, transfer to a cooling rack to cool the rest of the way.

I recommend serving them warm - they are just delicious!